The present invention relates to portable information equipment having a main body portion and a display portion foldably connected so as to be opened and closed.
Portable information equipment such as so-called notebook personal computers and word processors incorporate a chargeable internal battery so as to be able to use the equipment at a location where an alternating current power supply is not available. FIG. 4 shows a constitution of generally known portable information equipment 1. A portable information equipment 1 of such a type includes a main body portion 2 and a display portion 3 hinged each other, and usually an internal battery 4A is disposed at one corner of the main body portion 2.
In any portable information equipment 1 of this type, for the purpose of enhancing the portability of the equipment 1, while thickness reduction and weight reduction of the main body portion 2 and display portion 3 are required, as another important problem to be solved, there is an ardent demand for increasing a capacity of the internal battery 4A and extending a battery life thereof. However, in order to increase the capacity of the internal battery 4A, inevitably it is necessary to enlarge the outer shape of the internal battery 4A; therefore, the capacity of the internal battery 4A is set in consideration of the balance relative to a cabinet 21 of the main body portion 2 in which the internal battery 4A is disposed.
In the case that the battery capacity is insufficient with the internal battery 4A alone, an extension battery 4B as shown in FIG. 5 is externally attached to the main body portion 2 in order to supplement the resulting battery capacity shortage. However, external attachment of the extension battery 4B is considerably detrimental to the portability of the portable information equipment 1.
For a display unit 5 used in the display portion 3 of the portable information equipment 1, a liquid crystal display is generally employed. In the past, transmission type liquid crystal displays with backlight were in a main stream, but in recent years, reflection type liquid crystal displays have also been employed because the reflection type display can provide a clear color display without using any backlight.
FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view showing an edge part of the display portion 3 using a transmission type liquid crystal display 5. The transmission type liquid crystal display 5 comprises a transmission type liquid crystal unit 5A and a backlight unit 5B. The transmission type liquid crystal unit 5A has a laminate of a glass layer 51, a polarizer layer 52, and the like with a liquid crystal layer sandwiched therebetween. The backlight unit 5B is disposed behind the transmission type liquid crystal unit 5A and has a light guide plate 53, a backlight 54, and the like. These units are incorporated into a cabinet 31 of the display portion 3. The thickness of the backlight unit 5B is approximately 3 mm or so.
Whilst, a reflection type liquid crystal display comprises a reflection type liquid crystal unit formed in about the same thickness as that of the transmission type liquid crystal unit 5A so that thickness reduction and weight reduction can be realized to an extent corresponding to omission of the backlight unit 5B, compared with the transmission type liquid crystal display 5. Furthermore, display can be performed through utilization of reflected light from external light and not through illumination by the backlight 54, and this provides for an advantage of substantial reduction of electric power consumption.
However, there are commercial demands for both portable information equipment 1 using a transmission type liquid crystal display 5 and portable information equipment 1 using a reflection type liquid crystal display. As such, manufacturers of portable information equipment 1 are required to prepare and supply both types of products. Therefore, for portable information equipment 1 using reflection type liquid crystal display, despite the fact that the use of reflection type liquid crystal display enables thickness reduction of display portion 3 in relation to portable information equipment 1 using transmission type liquid crystal display 5, manufacturers are still using the cabinet 31 common to both types of display portion 3 of portable information equipment 1 due to cost reduction of development and manufacturing.
The present invention was developed in view of above described situation and, therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a portable information equipment substantially thinned by using a display unit requiring no backlight, wherein a second internal battery is incorporated into the display unit so that sufficient capacity and life of the internal battery are ensured and the utility of the equipment is improved.
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a portable information equipment having a main body portion and a display portion foldably connected so as to be opened and closed, the display portion comprising: a cabinet defining an outline of the display portion; a display unit requiring no backlight unit and housed in the cabinet; and a platy internal battery housed in a space defined between the cabinet and the display unit.
According to this invention, it is possible to increase the capacity of the internal battery, and therefore the useful life of the battery can be extended to enhance the utility of the portable information equipment. In addition, the display unit requires no backlight and consequently the electric power requirement for the display unit can be substantially reduced so that the useful life of the battery can be further extended. The cabinet and the associated peripheral parts in the portable information equipment according to the present invention are also usable for portable information equipment fitted with a backlight, and thereby manufacturing cost of the portable information equipment can be reduced.
In an embodiment of the invention, the space is on a back side of the display unit in the cabinet.
In an embodiment of the invention, the display unit is a reflection type liquid crystal display. Other display units such as an electro-luminescence display, a plasma display and a field effect display may be used as well.
In an embodiment of the invention, the platy internal battery is a lithium polymer battery.
In an embodiment of the invention, the portable information equipment further comprises: a battery control board provided within the cabinet; and a flat cable by which the battery control board is connected to the internal battery.
In an embodiment of the invention, the flat cable is a flexible flat cable or a flexible printed circuit.
According to the embodiment, wiring can be easily conducted in the cabinet of the display portion because the cable is flexible.
In an embodiment of the invention, the portable information equipment further comprises a power supply cable for supplying electric power from the internal battery to the main body portion.
In an embodiment of the invention, the power supply cable includes at least two independent electric wires in a bundle.
According to the embodiment, a bundle of the wires of the power supply cable allow a large current to be supplied to the main body portion and prevents the power supply cable from breaking during opening/closing operation of the display portion.